


Stolen Moment

by The Loneliest Bird (ShintheCat)



Category: Terminator (Movies), Terminator - All Media Types
Genre: Dani tried to be a commander, F/F, Fluff, Grace is a puppy, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Romance, and also very charming, before Grace became an augment, future setting, she really tried y'all, this happened somewhere in the middle of the war
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:53:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21616372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShintheCat/pseuds/The%20Loneliest%20Bird
Summary: A soft, stolen moment between Grace and Dani. Grace was injured in a mission, and Dani patched her up. Words were spoken. Some of them, she wasn't going to take back.
Relationships: Grace/Dani Ramos
Comments: 17
Kudos: 219





	Stolen Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [【翻译】偷来的时刻 Stolen Moment](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21789745) by [R_H_Felidae_Athena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_H_Felidae_Athena/pseuds/R_H_Felidae_Athena)



Dani cursed a certain someone’s name under her breath as she rushed to the Medbay. She then cursed at her rather short legs, wishing she had longer ones so that she could get to her destination faster. She ignored a few officers and soldiers who saluted her as she passed by them. Dani only felt rude for half a second before focusing on her objective again. Normally, she wasn’t like this. She always appeared calm and friendly. She greeted people, smiled at them, asked them about their days or their latest missions. Commander Ramos was much loved and respected among the community because of her openness to people, civilians and soldiers alike. But she wasn’t in the mood to play her commander role at the moment. Right now, there was only one concern inside her mind, and that was to know if that stupid (and blonde) soldier was okay or not.

Dani swung the door open rather forcefully, making a loud noise and probably startling the occupants inside the room. Everyone turned to acknowledge her. The two soldiers, who were busy talking and laughing, stopped short at her presence. They immediately saluted her. She only spared them a nod. 

Major Thompson, the one who was in charge of this mission, walked to her and made his salutation as well. “Commander.” 

Doctor Holland, a very respected medic in the resistance, looked surprised but soon smiled at her, “Commander, what a surprise.” 

Dani was so busy staring at the tall blonde sitting on a stool next to the doctor that she almost forgot to present herself. “Doctor. Major,” she said, finally composing herself, “Any casualty?”

“No, ma’am. We have succeeded in extracting our scientists to safety, all of them. Most of my men are well and have gone to debriefing…” he paused, a glimpse of amusement in his eyes, “Well, except for this one,” he pointed at the sitting soldier.

Dani’s eyes met striking blue. Grace gave her a small smile, the crooked one Dani secretly loved so much, but upon seeing the disapproval in her eyes, her smile disappeared. Grace looked away. 

“Thank you, Major. You did great. Go get yourself something to eat. You deserve your celebration,” said Dani, looking at him expectantly, silently asking him to leave.

“Yes, Commander. Thank you, Commander,” Thompson saluted and indicated the other two soldiers to leave with him. The three of them got out quickly and closed the door behind them.

“Don’t worry, Commander,” said the doctor, smiling gently at her, “She’s okay. Just two fractured ribs and a few cuts. They will heal by the end of tomorrow.”

Dani felt her face warming up at the fact that Holland knew what she was desperately wanting to know. Was she that obvious? Regardless, she was flooded with relief at his words. Grace was okay. 

“Now, she did hit her head pretty hard though, so I won’t rule out a possibility of a concussion. If she starts talking nonsense, give her this shot,” Holland said as he put a syringe full of clear liquid on a medical tray. “If you excuse me, Commander, I’d like to grab a bite myself too,” he smiled.

“Of course, doctor. Thank you.”

Once the doctor was out, Dani made her way to Grace. Even when sitting, Grace still could look her in the eyes without having to raise her head. Damn this kid and her growth spurt. Dani gently touch Grace’s face with her hands, tilting it to the side so she could examine the cut on her cheek. Doctor Holland did a great job in bandaging, but it was a deep cut so blood was still seeping out, staining the white cotton in little red spots. 

“He missed one,” said Dani quietly, musing over the strange fact that Holland had missed one cut, right above Grace’s left eyebrow. It was odd. He never was one to do a half-ass job. 

“It’s fine,” said Grace, still looking at Dani. 

“Don’t you ‘it’s fine’ me,” Dani snapped, pushing Grace’s blonde hair from her forehead. She grabbed a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant and dabbed it gently at the cut. Grace frowned at the sting. “What the hell happened? None of your squadmates got injured. What did you do this time, Grace?

Grace was silent. Her gaze on Dani had moved to the wall behind them. “We got everyone out of the camp before Legion pawns got there,” she finally explained. She tried to avoid Dani’s eyes, but Dani kept her face in a vise-like grip, forcing her to face her. “But I came back to the lab to retrieve intelligence on Legion’s next gen terminators…” 

“You did what?” 

“It was invaluable, Dani! Our scientists have worked for months to get that information. Even blood was shed to obtain it!” Grace argued, and Dani detected a small trace of that Canadian accent in her voice. It reminded Dani of those few years Grace was sent to Canada for her basic training. Grace only used such accent when she got frustrated. “Anyways, a Rev-7 caught me while I was escaping. It activated its self-destruct mode. I took cover behind a metal cabinet and hit my head against the wall when the machine exploded. Major Thompson came back to get me out. We secured the intelligence.”

“None of that intelligence bullshit matters if you’re dead!” said Dani, fuming with rage and fear. “What were you thinking, Grace? You were lucky to be alive, do you know that?”

Grace didn’t say anything. She didn’t even look at Dani anymore. And this infuriated Dani even more. “I can’t believe Thompson let you go back. I will need to talk with him later…” 

“Major Thompson has nothing to do with this, Commander. I disobeyed his direct order. I will take responsibility,” said Grace, looking in Dani’s eyes now. Dani didn’t miss the change of pronoun either. 

Only a few minutes ago, Dani was angry and pissed, but now she could feel her anger wavering. The power of Grace’s big blue eyes, staring intensely back at her, always made Dani weak in the knees. It wasn’t fair like this. It was never fair when she did it, but Dani had no other way out. She was bound to lose to Grace’s magnetic pull. Some commander she was, Dani thought dryly. She sighed instead.

“Dani,” Grace said after a moment, her voice softer, and Dani turned to meet her. “I’m sorry I worried you. I’ll be careful next time,” she said firmly. 

Dani smiled, shaking her head. It wasn’t the ‘I won’t do it again’ she was expecting. Grace was the most stubborn person Dani had ever met. Most of the time, Grace believed her every decision in combat was justified, even if it meant risking her own life or disrespecting direct orders from her supervisor. She would admit her fault later, but knowing her, Dani had no doubt that Grace would do it again and again should the circumstance arise. Grace had it in her, what people called foolish courage and youthful righteousness. But then again, Dani was attracted to her because of that. 

“Hold still,” said Dani, palming Grace’s cheek as she continued to dab at the cut. After satisfied with cleaning the wound, she put a bandage over the cut. She took her time cleaning Grace’s face as well. It was very rare that her face wasn’t covered in some sort of stain. This young woman was passionate in what she fought for, and oftentimes what she did always involved dirt on her clothes and scratches on her face. Somehow, messy blonde hair and dirty face was Grace’s appearance signature. Such rough charm was always endearing to Dani.

Blue eyes were on her the whole time she worked. She still tried to look into Dani’s eyes even when her head was tilted to the side. While tending to Grace’s slit lip, Dani could feel the weight of her stare, and she entertained the thought that maybe Grace was enjoying stripping Dani off of her commander facade. She suddenly felt younger, like in her teen years, when she had experienced having a crush for the first time. Like being a schoolgirl again, with all that desire to look and act feminine for her crush. She slowly moved her gaze up, deliberately batting her eyelashes at Grace. “Something on my face?” she asked.

“No,” a simple answer, and then Grace settled to stare at Dani again. 

Grace had this strange look in her blue eyes, one where Dani hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t that worshiped look she gave Dani when she was playing her commander role. It wasn’t quite the longing look she gave Dani whenever they passed by each other in the cafeteria. It was just strange, and Dani couldn’t put a word down on what it was. It was pleasant, though. Dani loved this look Grace was giving her. God forbid she wanted to indulge in this little pleasure a bit longer. 

“What do you see in her?” Grace suddenly spoke, breaking Dani out of her daydreams. 

“Who?” said Dani, brows knitting.

“Come on, Dani. You know who,” Grace chuckled, and when Dani gave her a confused look, she explained, “Theodora ‘Teddy’ Johanson.” She made no attempt to hide a snort when she said ‘Teddy’.

_ Oh. _

_ Okay… _

There was a rumor surrounding HQ and some smaller bases that Dani was romantically involved with some of her inner-circle lieutenants. At first, it settled with just a female lover (Dani didn’t deny nor confirm anything. She was indeed attracted to women though. Ever since that fateful day…), then words, from out of nowhere, spread like wildfire that she was hooking up with Teddy Johanson, one of her few trusted people. She was there, helping Dani and Sarah Conner building the resistance. But God, she was old enough to be her mother. Hell, she could be as old as Sarah!  __

“Nothing, Grace. It was nothing,” said Dani dismissively. She pulled away to throw the dirty cotton in the trash can and put away some medical instruments. 

Five, then ten seconds passed by, and Dani knew Grace wasn’t done. “Well, I’m younger,...definitely stronger…” said Grace, a strange slur in her voice, like she was drunk or something, Dani noted. “...and taller,” Grace deadpanned.

“Of course, you are,” Dani chuckled. She wouldn’t argue about that. Grace was really, really tall, annoyingly and endearingly at the same time. 

What Grace did next surprised her. Grace reached out and took hold of her hand, stopping her from what she was doing. “I’m not a kid anymore, Dani,” said Grace, low and husky, and there was that strange tilt to her voice again. 

“I-I know that…” said Dani, feeling her cheeks warming up by the intensity of Grace’s sky-like eyes. But… this time it was off. Grace’s eyes seemed to glaze over, dazed an unfocused. “Grace, follow my finger,” Dani ordered. She put up her index finger in front of the blonde and moved slowly side to side. Just as predicted, Grace was having trouble following her movement. She struggled to stay focused on Dani’s hand.

“Oh my God, you’re having a concussion!” Dani exclaimed. “Come here,” she instructed the younger woman to lie down on one of the cots in the Medbay. And Grace obeyed without protest. Dani then grabbed the syringe gun doctor Holland had given her earlier and pressed it to Grace’s upper arm. The shot made a small sound, and Dani quickly rubbed her palm over Grace’s bicep. “There, you’ll feel better.”

“Thank you,” Grace muttered. Her eyes began to lose focus. She was about to fall asleep soon, but for some reason, this stubborn woman refused to give in. Dani could tell Grace was trying her best to fight back fatigue. 

Dani pulled a chair over and sat next to Grace’s bed. “Close your eyes, stupid,” she whispered, stroking Grace’s golden hair that always seemed so untamed no matter how hard she tried to push it down. She made a mental note to cut Grace’s hair after this. 

“Dani,” called Grace, gazing at Dani with undivided attention despite her concussion. “Go out with me,” she said softly as she hooked one long finger around Dani’s shorter one.

Dani let a soft gasp escape her lips. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it in her ears. “You’re not yourself right now, you know? You won’t remember ever saying that to me,” she smiled at Grace, a tad disappointed that she was right. Grace wouldn’t remember anything in the morning. 

“I will. Go out with me,” Grace asked again, firmly. This time, she held Dani’s hand in hers, squeezing.

Something told Dani that Grace wouldn’t go to sleep if she didn’t give her an answer. Dani thought it over. There would be no harm if she humored Grace now. Grace wouldn’t recall any of this when she woke up. And also, it wasn’t like Dani didn’t enjoy indulging herself in her little fantasy, where Grace and her were an item, where she could kiss Grace without shame or regret. 

“Okay…” Dani murmured, leaning closer to Grace. She rested her chin on the space next to Grace’s head, looking up. “I’ll go out with you.” 

Grace gave her her most breathtaking smile ever, one she would have trouble forgetting. She closed her eyes, finally letting sleep take over. Dani rose and planted a kiss on Grace head. She watched her sleep. She looked so relaxed and so young. None of that hardened soldier facade; none of that tension between her eyebrows. Right now, Grace was just being Grace, the woman Dani loved now and the same woman she had loved many years ago.

0ooo0

Dani stretched her arms over her head, groaning as her joints popped in protest. She had been working for hours, trying to figure out the fastest route to resupply one of their strongholds in the north without crossing Legion’s security grid. She rubbed her eyes and her temples. Going through the plans and notes submitted by her lieutenants without taking any breaks started a pounding headache behind her eye sockets. At last, Dani decided to call it a night. She needed to wash up and eat something before Sarah or Holland could give her an earful about taking care of herself again. 

Dani stood, gathering her papers and notes. She heard a knock on her office door. She wondered who would want to visit her this time of the night. It was already past nine. “Come in.”

Dani’s mood improved immediately when she saw Grace. The younger woman closed the door behind her before saluting Dani. 

“Commander, permission to speak, ma’am.”

Dani shook her head, smiling, “You know you don’t have to be formal with me when it’s just the two of us in the room, Grace.” And as she realized what kind of implication her words had made out to be, Dani blushed and cleared her throat. “What can I do for you?” Dani said after gathering herself. She regarded Grace quietly. She seemed to be in a good mood. Proof was she couldn’t stop her grin - the crooked grin - Grace’s trademark. And her blue eyes reflected a mischievous glint.

“I’m here to take you out on a date,” said Grace in one breath.

Dani raised an eyebrow. Looking Grace over, she was wearing a simple white T-shirt, tucked neatly in green cargo pants; her dog tag hung idle around her neck. 

“I remember, Dani. Told you I would.”

Dani was suddenly at a loss for words. She was surprised, and also delighted. Very delighted. She let out a small laugh, biting her lip to stop it from dragging too long. She looked at Grace again, handsome and _ clean _ for once. Dani could see the effort she put in combing her blonde hair, though it wasn’t exactly the way Grace wanted it to be. She mused affectionately. 

“Well, this is awkward,” said Grace after waiting for nothing from Dani’s end. She dropped her confident smile and scratched her head, unconsciously messing up her hair. “Did you agree just to shut me up that night?” she asked, couldn’t hide her disappointment. 

Dani couldn’t hide her grin now. Confident Grace was hot, but a puppy-faced Grace was too adorable to pass. “No, Grace. I just...I didn’t think you’d remember…I need to change,” she said, gesturing to her boring and sweat-dampen commander outfit.

“Forgive me, but I see nothing wrong with your current outfit-!”

Dani shut her up by placing a finger on her lips. “Walk me to my room?”

Grace smiled, toothily, and at that moment, Dani vowed to herself that she would do anything and everything for this woman.

“After you,  _ Commander _ ,” said Grace, opening the door for her, still grinning from ear to ear. 

End.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hey thanks for reading! I love these two so much after watching the movie, and this place is the best place to express my love. The ending was so sad that I needed to write something light and fluffy to heal my broken heart. Tell me what you think in the comment section. Your opinion is what motivates me to write more.


End file.
